Title

Author

Date of Award

2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Jackson, Dennis (Psychology)

Keywords

Psychology, Social.

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Abstract

Past research has strongly linked moral development to a number of anti-social acts (Seijts & Latham, 2003) with the exception of workplace deviance (WD). This study explored a person-by-situation interactionist model that incorporated moral-cognitive development as a moderating determinant between organizational justice (OJ) and WD. One hundred undergraduate students read one of two hypothetical vignettes that depicted a student worker who experienced either an act of organizational injustice or justice. Participants also completed measures of moral reasoning (DIT2), OJ, intentional WD and a social desirability scale. Multiple Regression Analysis showed that participants who exhibited higher levels of the Maintaining Norms schema had lower WD intentions when the work situation was just, and those with higher levels of Postconventional thinking may be associated with lower perceptions of OJ in the unjust scenario. However, this did not necessarily translate to overt retaliatory behaviour towards the employer.